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A one-day workshop facilitated by the University of Houston-Victoria School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development will give educators tips and tactics for teaching in tandem.

Co-Teaching: Getting it Right will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 28 in the UHV University Center Multi-Purpose Room, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St. Attendees can receive six Continuing Professional Education hours. The workshop cost is $25. UHV students can attend for a discounted rate of $10.

Co-teaching is an instructional model that uses two teachers – one general education teacher and one special education teacher.

Mary Lasater

“While co-teachers work in the same classroom to support students who have individual education plans or special education services, co-teaching also benefits all students,” said Mary Lasater, a UHV assistant professor of education. “The strategies co-teachers use are especially good for English language learners, gifted students and those struggling with their coursework.”

Lasater said the workshop will be helpful to current co-teachers, new teachers and students studying to become teachers. Administrators unfamiliar with co-teaching also are encouraged to attend.

“Some school districts are introducing co-teaching while others are building on existing programs,” Lasater said.

The interactive workshop will include plenty of hands-on activities. Educators with previous co-teaching experience are welcome to share their experiences as well.

Processes for building positive co-teaching partnerships and pitfalls to avoid.

Strategies to increase learning for students with disabilities.

Ways to maximize student participation in co-taught lessons.

Strategies and activities that can be used immediately in co-taught classrooms.

Joining Lasater in leading the workshop are Rachel Martinez, a UHV associate professor of special education, and E2 Group President Tracy Knickerbocker. The Houston-based E2 Group is an educational consulting team that specializes in providing practical, innovative and research-based interventions to educators working in pre-K through 12 classrooms.

“Tracy has years of training experience across the U.S.,” Lasater said. “She has worked with school districts to implement co-teaching on a districtwide basis.”

The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973, offers courses leading to 70 bachelor’s, master’s and specialist degree
programs and concentrations in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face
classes at its Victoria campus, as well as a teaching center in Katy, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of
State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities, and the important role they have in providing
a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.